Foundation garment



June 14, 1938. M. SIMON FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 15, 1936 INVENTORSuva/v.

ATTO-RNEY Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNDATIONGARMENT Application June 13, 1936, Serial No. 85,108

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-37) The present invention relates to foundationgarments and, more particularly, to elastic girdles, corsets, andsimilar articles of wearing apparel. While useful for other purposes,the present invention is concerned primarily with girdles which are madein whole or in part from knit textile threads and which havetextile-covered rubber threads extending circumferentially thereof.Girdles of this well known construction are characterized by substantialcircumferential elasticity and limited elasticity or stretch in a.longitudinal direction, that is, in a direction between the top andbottom portions of the girdle. Due to the comparatively highcircumferential elasticity of girdles of this type, they do not properlyconfine certain portions of the wearers body but, on the contrary, areineffective to prevent bulging of such body portions. it is therefore anobject of the present invention to limit the circumferential elasticityof certain portions of the girdle and especially the front portionthereof which normally is engaged by the wearers abdomen, whereby toprevent said portion from bulging.

Another object of the invention is to provide an elastic girdle withstretch-limiting means of such character that it will not detract fromthe comfortable quality of girdles of this type.

The above objects of the invention and other objects which mighthereinafter appear will best be understood from the followingdescription considered in connection with the accompanying drawing. 4

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a girdle embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view, on a front portion of the girdle.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the preferred form of the invention, as here shown, the girdle I0 ismade of the knit elastic material hereinbefore mentioned and ischaracterized by substantial circumferential elasticity and relativelylimited elasticity or stretch in a longitudinal direction between thetop edge l2 and the bottom edge l4. As here shown, said girdle is madeof an endless band of such material suitably fashioned to fit about thewearer's body at the waist and hips. The upper and front central portionI6 of the girdle which overlies the abdomen of the wearer is frequentlycaused to bulge because of its high elasticity characteristic. Theelimination of the tendency of the girdle to bulge at this portion isaccomplished by attaching to said portion a thin, flat layer l8 ofcompounded sheet rubber material having certain characteristics which,as will presently appear, make such material suitable for this purpose.

larger scale, of the The compounded sheet rubber material of which thelayer I8 is made is rubber having finely divided textile flock,particularly cotton or silk flock, incorporated therein. Said flock isincorporated into the rubber, and the mixture thus produced issubsequently subjected to the action of calender rolls and vulcanized,as in the ordinary method of producing sheet rubber. Aftervulcanization, the rubbersheet thus produced is found to possess reducedelasticity, and is less elastic in the direction in which the sheet leftthe calender rolls than in a transverse direction. The flexibility ofthe rubber sheet is, however. substantially the same as that of ordinarysheet rubber.

For producing the sheet rubber having such properties, the followingmethod is preferred: Any suitable commercial rubber as for instancewashed and dried rubber may be used. The rubber may be introduced intothe processing either in the relatively unmanufactured condition inwhich it arrives from the plantation or other native source, or may havebeen advanced through the manufacturing stages to become batched orbroken down rubber. For instance. the rubber may have been advanced,from the stage of the crepe type of plantation rubber, through one ormore stages of a batching process, to prepare it for eflicientprocessingin accordance with the invention. The batch is worked uponapparatus such as a mixing mill, or a rubber masticator of like effect.The manner of this processing may follow substantially the usual courseof manipulation used on mixing mills,

especially in the first period where the rubber is broken up andsoftened for the subsequent processing. While the rubber is feedingthrough the masticator or mill, and after an interval of about twentyminutes, depending upon the particular batch of rubber, customarilydevoted to breaking down the rubber, there is introduced into the massof rubber, for incorporation thereinto, a quantity of flock. Theproportions of flock may be varied in accordance with certain factors inthe product desired, as, for instance, the thickness of the sheetintended to be produced, and other factors of commercial importance.

The mixture thus produced is subjected to a sufficient mastication toeffect, at this stage, substantially complete incorporation of all theflock into, and uniform distribution of such flock throughout, therubber. In this masticating operation, other compounds such as coloringmatter may be introduced. It was found that, on

the mixing mill, fine grinding of the batched 4 rubber and flockassisted in securing substantially uniform distribution, the end pointof the mastication being reached by setting the rolls closely up towardeach other, in one case so that they were but about one-sixteenth inchapart.

After mastication, while the resultant rubber preferably is given theusual rest, it may immediately, or after such a rest, be removed to thecalender rolls. While ordinary temperatures of calendering may sufficefor the manufacture of a product within certain of the elements of thisinvention, it has been found that a slight rise in the neighborhood of'10 F. to F. resulted in an appreciable development of the desiredproperties of the product.

The mass of incorporated rubber and flock is calendered without anymaterial change from the method practiced by skilled calender crews whodetermine the condition of the'rubber in the customary manner,considering the amount of flock and other introduced compounds. When thecalendered mass finally has reached the desired condition, the sheet isremoved from the rolls in the usual manner, and made up in readiness forvulcanization.

Even after the mixing operation, the rubber is found to have attained adegree of non-elasticity in the line in which it is removed from therolls. This characteristic is found to be even more enhanced when thematerial passesin its unvulcanized state, from the calender rolls.

The substance introduced at the mixing mill for the manufacture of thistype of rubber may be described as extremely fine fibres, such,forinstance, as are found in textile fibres. Such fine fibres may bereduced to an even finer state than the normal condition in commerce,as, for instance, by grinding or by some similar operation. Theparticular fibres used in preparing certain embodiments in accordancewith the invention include fibres of the animal type, such as silkflock, and fibres of the cellulosic type, such as cotton flock, that is,fibres of silk and cotton which had been reduced .to a very fine,powdery condition. In fact, this flock is as fine as flour, so fine thatthe individual fibres are barely, if at all, visible to the naked eye.It has been found that the finer the flock used, the more accentuatedare the results secured. Such fineness makes possible the production ofvery thin sheets without pin holes. Also, the amount of flock introducedwas found to be most effective when, into the masticator, there wereintroduced between eight to twenty-five parts of flock for eachninetytwo to seventy-five parts of rubber and other compounds. Rubberprocessed in this manner could be calendered into sheets between fiveone-'-thousandths and twenty-five one-thousandths of an inch, althoughonly gauges between twelve onethousandths and twenty one-thousandthswere necessary for commercial use. All of these factors can be arrivedat without the introduction of any brittlenessinto the sheet.

After calendering and preferably a suitable rest period, the sheet issubjected to vulcanization. In this stage of processing, substantiallyany suitable method may be followed. However, the acid cure or vaporcure has been found most effective in delivering a rubber having thedesired characteristics.

The layer l3 composed of this rubber composition is stitched at itsperipheral edge to the knit material of the girdle by a line of zig-zagstitching 20 and is free to stretch with said material bothcircumferentially, and longitudinally. Said layer is so positioned thatits direction of maxi mum elasticity extends in the direction ofcircumferential stretch of the girdle while the direction in which saidlayer is least elastic extends longitudinally of the girdle between thetop edge l2 and the bottom edge I l. Said layer I 8 is provided with aplurality of perforations 22 to provide for the circulation of airthrough the laminated portion of the girdle, thereby increasing thecomfort of the girdle when worn. It will, of course, be understood thatsaid layer l8, while relatively thin, is substantially less elastic thanordinary sheet rubber of the same gauge or thickness and is alsoconsiderably less elastic than the portion l6 of the girdle to whichsaid layer is attached. Thus, said layer I 8 limits the stretch of saidgirdle portion It to an extent sufiicient to prevent bulging of saidportion and thereby produces a substantial flattening eifecton theabdomen of the wearer.

While I have shown and described my invention in connection with agirdle, it will be understood that said invention may be used with otherfoundation garments such as corsets, combined girdles and brassieres,etc. It will be understood also that the material of which the girdle ismade v is not limited to that specifically herein described but may beotherwise knit or woven, and arranged in the garment to impartcircumferential elasticity thereto. Other changes in the construction ofthe girdle and the material thereof will occur to those skilled in theart in view of the present disclosure. Therefore, I do not wish to belimited precisely to the present disclosure except-as may be required bythe prior art and the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure byLetters Patent of the United States is:

1. A girdle or similar article of wearing apparel having a bodyencircling part which is circumferentially and longitudinally elastic,and a thin and smooth panel consisting of flexible and elastic materialof substantial width and length disposed at the front of said bodyencircling part over a substantial surface portion thereof in positionoverlying the wearers abdomen, said panel being inherently less elasticthan the overlying portion of said body encircling part andsubstantially less elastic longitudinally than circumferentially wherebyto restrict the stretch of the overlying part of the girdle to preventexcessive bulging of the girdle at the part overlying the wearersabdomen while permitting substantial stretching of said part in acircumferential direction.

2. A girdle or similar article of wearing apparel having a bodyencircling part which is circumferentially and longitudinally elastic,and a thin and smooth panel consisting of flexible and elasticcompounded sheet rubber material having textile fiock incorporatedtherein, said layer being of substantial width and length and disposedat the front of said body encircling part over a substantial surfaceportion thereof in position.

overlying the wearer's abdomen, said panel being inherently less elasticthan the overlying portion of said body encircling part andsubstantially less elastic longitudinally than circumferentially wherebyto restrict the stretch of the overlying part of the girdle to preventexcessive bulging of the girdle at the part overlying the wearersabdomen while permitting substantial stretching of said part in acircumferential direction.

MAX SIMON.

